Just how good are those imports?

[lowrider]

Originally Posted by guitar george

Gibson/Epiphone has a factory in Qingdao, China.

Do you really want to put Epiphone up there as ''exceptional'' guitars? To me they're just flashy looking guitars that don't sound so good.

[mercy]

When we say import we think Pacific Rim, under $1000. Eastmans are pretty good usually but they cost more than many PR products. It isnt that PR factories cant but the ones Ive played and seen are not exceptional. Some of you have played expensive PR guitars but I havent and they arent in stores to play so they dont apply to our discussion of imports. No doubt if factories in the US built guitars at the prices of PR guitars they wouldnt be exceptional either. As far as you in Europe, really?

[AHill]

Originally Posted by Fattymagoo

My Eastman is AS GOOD as a Martin.

Which Martin? Martin, Taylor, and Gibson all make a pretty large range of guitars, at a pretty wide range of prices. To say a certain brand is just as good as another certain brand leaves out a lot of details. I'm not saying your guitar is a fabulous guitar. I'm just saying it can be difficult to make general comparisons.

[HHP]

Originally Posted by Fattymagoo

My Eastman is AS GOOD as a Martin.

If I ever open a guitar building company in China, I will name my line of instruments "Azgoodaza"

[Fattymagoo]

Originally Posted by AHill

Which Martin? Martin, Taylor, and Gibson all make a pretty large range of guitars, at a pretty wide range of prices. To say a certain brand is just as good as another certain brand leaves out a lot of details. I'm not saying your guitar is a fabulous guitar. I'm just saying it can be difficult to make general comparisons.

Agreed, and I hit on the model/quality variation within a single brand in the post you replied to... You edited that part out when you quoted me though. To answer your question, I'm referring to standard series Martins. My Eastman is "a little" better than some, and "almost as" good as others. Thus on average, it's at an equal level with standard series Martins. It's not a Martin clone. It doesn't try to sound like a Martin. But it is as good of a guitar.

[Fattymagoo]

Originally Posted by HHP

If I ever open a guitar building company in China, I will name my line of instruments "Azgoodaza"

Please don't single my post out with that response... I'm not championing Martin as the golden standard, nor am I implying that Eastman is trying to live up to Martin. My comment was in the context of this thread. My Eastman is not trying to be "azgoodaza"... It just is... And in some cases it is BETTER than a Martin Standard series (see my post above). This of course is all subjective to the individual player. It's definitely better than anything Martin puts out in the same price range in my opinion. For the record, I consider myself a "Martin man" but don't really care about a brand one way or the other. I certainly have no emotional ties to Eastman.

That being said, you and AHill both left out the part where I said my Blueridge was NOT as good as a Martin. My point was that 1.) Some Chinese guitars are NOT built to be "bang for the buck" price point boxes... And 2.) I don't have a bias for or against any guitar maker or country of origin. You both cherry picked and took my post out of context.

[Pine]

If you spent a few years learning to hear like I did, you wouldn’t be too concerned about these import vs domestic threads!

In the late 60’s, I spent 6 years playing a pair of J79’s. Now those were cannons. Even banjos couldn’t compete. And they certainly weren’t cheap imports. I can say that those 6 years completely changed the way I hear music. Actually, the way I hear everything.

Now, I don’t worry much about the specific tonal attributes of individual guitars, or where they were manufactured. All the guitars I play sound like me anyway.

[Steadfastly]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Good points, well made.

I'm afraid that (from my point of view as an Englishman) many Americans have a problem understanding that the USA is just one country, and not unique in the capability of production .... of varying qualities.

A lot of that is national pride at its best or worse (depends how you look at it).

[AZLiberty]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Good points, well made.

I'm afraid that (from my point of view as an Englishman) many Americans have a problem understanding that the USA is just one country, and not unique in the capability of production .... of varying qualities.

True, but like everything, guitars are designed and built to a specification.

When it comes to SEA instruments, they tend to be built heavier than US or European guitars since they are going to sit in a conex box for months at sea.

You will never convince me that a Chinese Guild or Breedlove is as responsive and lively as one of their US built counterparts.

Construction, finish, and detail however tends to be quite good, and you would have to pay 30%-40% more to get as nice an instrument built in the US or Western Europe due to labor and regulatory compliance costs.

As with anything else, the Pareto Principle applies.

[Dronfield]

Hi

I was happy to vote for Guild - my MIC Westerly M-140 with its solid Mahog b/s, solid spruce top and short scale, was "exceptional" value for money!

Rich

[guitar george]

Originally Posted by lowrider

I would have voted for Eastman and Yamaha because they have their own factories making their instruments. The others just contract out to musical instrument sub-contractors. They could be making guitars for anybody.

Originally Posted by guitar george

Gibson/Epiphone has a factory in Qingdao, China.

Originally Posted by lowrider

Do you really want to put Epiphone up there as ''exceptional'' guitars? To me they're just flashy looking guitars that don't sound so good.

I only pointed out that Epiphone also has a factory in Qingdao, China. Nothing to do with the quality of the guitars.

[mickthemiller]

Originally Posted by rmyAddison

Exceptional to me is not entry level, including Martin's entry level models.

I have never played an "exceptional" guitar, my opinion, at entry level, low end price points, juts like I've never had a "great" $9.99 meal at a restaurant.

Mostly in life you get what you pay for........

Don't hold back, say what you think, we can take it!

[Gmountain]

Originally Posted by Dronfield

Hi

I was happy to vote for Guild - my MIC Westerly M-140 with its solid Mahog b/s, solid spruce top and short scale, was "exceptional" value for money!

Rich

I'm not sure the criteria is exceptional "for the money." It's either exceptional, or it isn't.

I'm sure I could build a guitar and charge someone $1. It might be exceptional for the money, but it still isn't any sort of exceptional guitar.

[Tony Burns]

Really not as good as some people say they are -the top on this list of course is Eastman -

[Andromeda]

I am a big fan of Alvarez guitars. I have a high end Taylor and love my Alvarez just as much.